The first round of the 2012 MLB Draft is Monday night, and the Pittsburgh Pirates will have the eighth pick. It’s still an early pick, but not nearly as high as the past few years. There’s also a lot less buzz around this year’s draft class, and there are new limitations on how much each team can spend. I haven’t been talking about the draft at all on this site (I certainly will over the next few days, of course), but you should all know by now that the place to be for this sort of thing is PiratesProspects.com.

The teams picking ahead of the Pirates are the Astros, Twins, Mariners, Orioles, Royals, Cubs, and Padres. Nobody seems to be too sure about what those teams will do, so there’s a ton of uncertainty about who will be left on the board by the time the Pirates get to pick. Here are some names we’ve heard about over the past few weeks:

Mike Zunino, C, Florida: This is the guy a lot of people are hoping the Pirates can nab, but it’s unlikely he’ll fall to the 8 spot. The junior has strong numbers across the board, is the best college hitter in the draft, and would be a huge steal–much more of a prospect than Tony Sanchez was/is–but again, I highly doubt he’ll make it all the way down to #8.

Carlos Correa, SS, HS (Puerto Rico): A lot of people were eying the young shortstop (who is committed to Miami), but it’s a near guarantee that he’ll be taken before the Pirates’ turn. If he falls, he’d be a great pickup.

Deven Marrero, SS, Arizona State: Lots of projections have Marrero ending up with the Pirates. He’s a good defensive shortstop but hasn’t hit as much this year as you’d want for a top-ten pick. Given the current state of affairs with the Pirate offense and what they’ve gotten from shortstops, this would probably be a disappointing choice, but at least Marrero has a pretty high floor and would likely move up through the system quickly. He’s hit much better in previous seasons.

Max Fried, LHP, HS (California): This high school lefty is another name that has landed with the Pirates in a couple mock drafts. He’s got good command of three pitches, throws in the 90’s, and is committed to UCLA. He’s the top-ranked lefty in the draft.

Chris Stratton, RHP, Mississippi State: Stratton posted strong numbers this year in the SEC. He profiles as a lower-risk guy but has less potential than some of the other pitchers on the board. Again, he would be the type of pitcher that would ascend through the minors sooner rather than later.

Lucas Giolto, RHP, HS (California): A teammate of Fried’s, many pegged Gioloto as the top HS pitcher in the draft. He’s suffered an arm injury, though, so he’s a bit of a mystery and would be an even bigger risk than a typical HS pitcher. I’ve seen his name connected to the Pirates a couple times as well.

David Dahl, OF, HS (Alabama): Baseball America has the Bucs taking Dahl, which to me would say that the Pirates wanted to avoid another pitcher in the first round. The young outfielder would still be a solid choice, as most projections have him going around 10th. The same thing applies for another HS OF, Courtney Hawkins from Texas.

There are others, but those seem to be most of the main names you may hear tonight around 6 PM. I’m holding out hope that Zunino falls, and a few sources this morning have indicated that it’s possible. Stay tuned to see what the Bucs do, and I’ll certainly be posting my thoughts later tonight. The Pirates will also make a compensation pick (for Ryan Doumit) at #45 this evening, and the later rounds will be on Tuesday and Wednesday.